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NASA's Curiosity rover has sent back images of honeycomb-like textures called polygonal fractures, each one about 1.5 to 3 inches (4 to 8 centimeters) across. NASA reports: The mission has spotted small patches of these geometric shapes several times before, but nothing at the scale discovered in Valle Grande. In a 360-degree panorama that the rover captured on June 19 and 20, the 4,930th and 4,931st Martian days, or sols, of the mission, the polygonal shapes spread in all directions for as far as the rover can see... "[T]his sea of polygons took our breath away," said the mission's project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California... Some of the polygons that the mission has spotted in the past clearly formed as mud cracks, though a variety of processes can contribute to their honeycomb textures, including cycles of warm and cold temperatures or compression that squeezed water out of the sediment when the surface was buried. These newly discovered polygons are among the many surprises Curiosity has trundled across since landing on Mars 14 years ago, on Aug. 5, 2012. Besides sulfur crystals, shiny meteorites, and other interesting geologic features, the rover has made major discoveries about the ancient Martian environment — most importantly, that it had the water, chemistry, and nutrients to support microbial life. Billions of years ago, lakes and streams dappled the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has been ascending since 2014. The rover has previously uncovered chemistry left over from Mars' watery history, including carbon-based molecules believed to be precursors to RNA and DNA, two nucleic acids that carry genetic information. Scientists have no way of knowing whether these organic molecules were created by biologic or geologic processes — either path is possible — but their discovery reconfirmed that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support life. Dark, pebble-sized rocks also litter the area, NASA writes in a blog post, saying it's a "still-to-be-resolved question" as to whether they're bits of Mars that "floated" down from higher in the sediment layers, or "were ejected from distant impacts outside of Gale crater, or are meteorites from beyond Mars altogether."

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Emergency services were hoping cooler temperatures forecast for many parts of the UK might ease pressure on firefighters, after crews were called to hundreds of grassland fires recently.

Andy Burnham's social care pledge may cost £21billion more than expected, an analysis of his flagship policy has revealed.

President Donald Trump has blasted Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for DC, for dismissing the charges against a US Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Long Lost Family host Davina is to retire in five years - at the age of just 62.

Melanie Chisholm showed she's still Sporty Spice as she athletically dived into the ocean on her honeymoon in Ibiza this weekend after marrying Chris Dingwall.

The 67-year-old actress is suspected of violating her permit to house rescue animals.

Gary Lineker's financial adviser killed himself when he became depressed after recommending wealthy clients take part in a controversial tax-avoidance scheme, The MoS can reveal

More than four million people in the UK currently have diagnosed diabetes - with type 2 diabetes making up nine in ten cases.

Rubin Blount, 28, from Tamworth, was beaten and starved to death by recovering drug addicts Kenneth Newton and Melanie James, after social workers agreed they could look after him.

Whitney Lynn was removed from a delayed Alaska Airlines flight after telling passengers God might be protecting them from danger - and was later barred from the carrier.

The trove of private text messages details her failed romances and other highly personal moments.

John Terry was booed as he chugged a pint of beer on stage with Luke Combs during his London gig on Friday night. 

Apple's stock "fell just shy of 10% on Friday," reports Yahoo Finance, "after CEO Tim Cook warned about the impact of the global memory shortage on the company's business." During Apple's third quarter earnings call, Cook said the company paid significantly more for memory in the quarter and expects that to further increase in the current period. And while Apple is able to offset some of that price jump, it won't be able to tackle it all... The CEO said that iPhone and Mac sales outpaced Apple's own expectations and that a lack of flexibility in the supply chain is making it more difficult to keep up with demand. Yahoo Finance cited an investment analyst who predicts overall gross margins for Apple's iPhone could drop from 38% to 34.5%. But another analyst sees a scenario where Apple "raises iPhone prices, unit growth will slow, and as unit growth slows, so will user growth, which we think ultimately will slow Services growth." (Still, Yahoo Finance predicts Apple's new leasing program "could help address those concerns.") Apple has another controversial option, according to the blog 9to5Mac: Bloomberg reports that US senators from both sides of the aisle are urging Apple CEO Tim Cook to commit by August 21 to not using memory chips from Chinese suppliers CXMT and YMTC.... Apple is not required to obtain U.S. government approval to purchase chips from the companies, but doing so without the administration's support could expose it to significant political ramifications. Which is why, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal ahead of Apple's recent price hikes, Tim Cook said that "everything needs to be on the table," adding that "we should look at all supply...." More recently, the Journal reported that Apple's use of Chinese memory chips could extend beyond China, with the company seeking the administration's blessing to use components from CXMT and YMTC in products sold elsewhere outside the US. The report also detailed Micron's efforts to persuade the administration to reject Apple's request, arguing that allowing Chinese suppliers into Apple's supply chain could undermine domestic memory production... [Bloomberg's reported that U.S. lawmakers warned] other companies could follow Apple's lead, potentially undermining domestic memory production and planned investments in states such as Indiana, Idaho, New York, and Virginia... [T]he senators sought details about any information Apple has shared with CXMT during the component qualification process, noting that the transfer of controlled technical information to advanced chipmaking facilities in China may require a Commerce Department license. The blog MacRumors notes that Apple has already increased prices for Macs and iPads in June because of surging memory prices. Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday "we did it because we're in what I would characterize as a 100-year flood on memory pricing with exponential increases in memory prices." Cook did not comment on whether Apple plans to raise iPhone prices when the iPhone 18 Pro models and first foldable launch this September, but multiple analysts believe prices will go up. Cook said Apple is expecting to pay higher memory costs in the September quarter, though Apple will be able to partially offset it with lower costs on some non-memory components and a stockpile of inventory. Sky News points out that "It was Tim Cook's final earnings appearance before his retirement after 15 years at the helm of the company." Apple, which recently topped Nvidia as the most valuable listed company, has been largely spared the volatility in share price seen by chipmakers and big spenders on artificial intelligence. Apple continues to generate cash without the huge investment spending that its Wall St peers are dealing with "and that showed across most parts of the operation," said Thomas Monteiro, an analyst at Investing.com.

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The senior Reform member wasn't pulling any punches. 'There's no way Nigel puts this behind him now,' he told me.

Recent awards by the organisation - which dishes out more than £840 million a year in taxpayer cash and the National Lottery - included £100,000 for the Migration Matters Festival.

NIK SIMON IN GLASGOW: The Prince and Princess of Wales opted to spend their morning watching the netball in Glasgow but the real royal rumble was in the boxing ring.

For fans of Game of Thrones , it may well be the ultimate dream house.

Fred MacAulay has opened up about the freak golfing accident that almost killed him.

Long-time Slashdot reader Qbertino writes: The northern German City of Hamburg is currently in the process of replacing one of its bridges in one single gigantic piece. The new replacement weighs 3700 metric tons and was carefully moved into place over a stretch of 500 meters, requiring extreme patience and precision maneuvering. Some places leave only 40 cm of room to neighbouring buildings.

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